Improvement in reversible latches



@wird geraten WILLIAM R. SMITH, 0F BRANFCRD, CONNECTICUT.

Letti/rs Patent No. 101,673, dat-ed April' 5, 1870.

IMPROVEMENT INV REvERsIBLE LATcHEs.

The Schedule ,referred to in thele Letters Patent and making part of the same.

To all 'whom it may emr-ccm Be it known thatI, WILLIAM R. SMITH, of Branford, in the county of N ew Haven and State of Conueticut,`have'invented a new Improvement in Reversible IJatches -and 1 do hereby declare the following, when taken iu connection with the accompanying drawings and the letters of reference marked thereon, to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, and-which said drawings constitute part of this speciiication, and represent in- Figure 1A a side view of t-he upper portion of the latch-case; A

Figure 2, the same, with the plate removed; andin Figure 3,' a section on line :v x, looking toward the face-plate. y I j This invention relates to an improvement in knob latches, the object being. the construction ofthe latch audits operative mechanism, so that the latch-bolt may be reversed to serve for eithera tight or lefthand door; and

The invention consists in combining with the lever upon-which the follower operates, and to which -the` latch-bolt is pivoted, a second lever, to which the rst is pivoted, and so that by themovement of the second the lever may be dropped out of its proper position, and so that when dropped the latch-bolt may be detached therefrom, reversed, and replaced, and the lever,

returning to its fixed position, the latch-bolt is prevented from removal therefrom.

Ais the latch-case.`

B, the hub or follower.

C, the latch-bolt, the. said latch-bolt pivoted to a levr, D, in the usual manner, and the said lever D hung in such relative position *to the follower B that,

by turning the follower B, the bolt is drawn' into the 'case in thc usual manner.

The latch-bolt is attached to the lever by a pivot, d, and is prevented from removaly therefrom by a lng, j, see tig. 3, formed on one side/of the case, and resting upon a projection, h, onthe tail ofthe latch-bolt.

Instead ofixing the pivot (o in the case, I foi-1u it upon one arm E of a level', the said lever pivoted at o1., andthe, other arm F extendingalong the inside ot' the case with a projection, fr, extending through a slot,

I, in the case, as seen. in tig. 1.

Therefore, when the arm F of'the said lever is raised, as seen in broken lines iig. 2, the lever D will f be dropped, carrying with it the latch-bolt C, as seen in broken lines iig. 2, in whichposition -the projection 71 is carried from under the lug fon' the case, so that by taking hold of the'latch-bolt ou its outer end it may be taken from the pivot, withdrawn,turned to the desired position, replaced, and the lever E F left free will return the lever D and latch-bolt to the rst position by means of the lspring S, see lig. 2, the said spring bearing under a projecting arm of the lever D, 

